Cognition Chapter 4 (Memory) Flashcards
Explain the 3 memory processes
- Encoding (making information storageable –> typing information in keyboard)
- Storage (keeping information for longer time –> Hard drive)
- Retrieval (getting informatiomn when needed –> open file)
What are the 4 Memory systems with examples
- Sensory Memory (perception through senses)
- Short term Memory (remember 129234234)
- Working Memory (calculate 31+13=)
- Long term Memory (What is the name of dutch king)
Explain sensory memory and what it consists of
Sensory memory is the shortest-term element of memory. It is like a small buffer to store information from the senses and make them available for the consciousness.
That it why there is iconic memory (visual), echoic memory (auditory) and haptic memory (tactile)
Its why we see a wheel when a light gets spinned around
Explain iconic memory
It is the storage of vision
It has a large storage capacity but is stored only very briefly (decays fast after even 1 second)
Explain echoic and haptic memory
Echoic is the sensory memory for auditory information.
Haptic memory is the sensory memory for touch information.
Both have a good storage capacity which decays fast.
Explain the “weaknesses of the sensory memory”
Information here decays very quickly.
It is also very sensitive for interference (If a mask is presented with a stimulus, this interferes with the memory of the stimulus)
The knowledge also cannot be used or manipulated (knowledge free)
Explain short term memory
It is a temporary storage of active information
To bring information into long term memory it needs to organized (to integrate it with
previous knowledge) (elaborate rehearsal)
A normal person can remember 7 numbers
What 4 things influence how good your short term memory works
- You can enhance it with maintaince rehearsal
If you dont it will decay - New information also causes previous information to be lost.
- if you CHUNK information it works better (make sense out of stuff)
- Information in the front (primacy effect) and in the end (recency effect) gets remembered better
Explain the modal model and its 3 assumptions
It describes how the different memory systems work with each other
- STM and LTM are seperate systems
- the processing of short term memory determines how good LTM works
- STM has limited capacity
Explain general working memory
It is the information that is currently activated in the system
It has a multicomponent storage system which is sensory specific and processes information
What is the embedded process model and its 3 components
- Longterm memory (inactive but can get active if tasks needs it
- Time limited active memory (subset of LTM which is also unconscious)
- Memory with the focus of attention (subset of the time limited active memory which is conscious)
What is the Baddeley WM model and its components
it has the “central executive” in the middle.
It works together with 3 components as the visuo spatial sketchpad (visual), the episodic buffer (episodic LTM) and the Phonological loop (Language)
Explain the phonological loop and its 2 subcomponents
It processes acoustic and speech based information
It has 2 components
1. Phonological store (holds speech based information for some seconds)
2. Articulatory control process (converts visual to speech form)
It is used for language but also for some maths.
What are the 4 evidences for the phonological loop
- The word length effect
- The effect of articulatory suppression
- The irrelevant speech effect
- The phonological similarity effect
Explain the The word length effect
smaller words can easier be remembered because of more maintainance of the phonological store
This is why people with languages of faster articlation have better memory span
What is The effect of articulatory suppression
If people have to rehearse a string that is irrelevant to the actual memory task, they have worse memory because the sub vocal rehearsal is disrupted
What is The irrelevant speech effect
when hearing irrelevalt speech, memory is altered because capacity of phonological store is also used by it.
What is The phonological similarity effect
Recall is worse if words sound similar
This is because the phonolocal store uses speech based codes when rehearsing
Explain the visuospatial sketchpad (VSSP) and its 2 subcomponents
It is the process and memory of visual and spatial information
- Visual cache (temporal storage of 2-3 objects)
- Inner scribe (maintainance and processing of information)
What is the The Brooks matrix task and why is it evidence for the VSSP
Sentences that are easy to visualize are remembered better, and for spatial sentences auditory presentation is best (then there is mre VSSP for remembering)
If the subject has to perform a visuo spatial task while remembering the spatial sentenses, it becomes a lot more difficult –> VSSP used up
What is the episodic buffer and why does it exist
It acts like a global workspace for the consciousness and attention and interacts between WM and LTM
In the beginning there was only VSSP and phonological loop, but no explanation on how the WM interacts with LTM in the model.
What is the central executive in the WM
It is most important because it controls information processing in the other components (inhibition/monitoring/task switching)
It is lacated in the FRONTAL LOBE
What are errors in the central executive
- Capture errors (cannot override routine behaviour: say the colour of “white”)
- Damage to Frontal lobe cause people to fail in overriding routine behaviour which is perseveration
